Spanish Speaking Caribbean

    Hello one and hello to all! I'm so happy that you stopped to my blog. Today, we're going to be discussing the parts of the Caribbean that I actually share part of a second language with.... the Spanish speaking ones. Now while I'm not 1000% fluent in the language, I have been told that I can hold a decent conversation so I'll take any win that I can lol.

    I'm going off track, my mistake. In this blog we're going to be talking about the creolization of Spanish speaking countries. Let me give you some history about these islands first.The Spanish speaking Caribbean consists of islands such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize and Puerto Rico to name a few. These countries share a common history of Spanish colonization, and their culture reflects a blend of Spanish, African, and other indigenous influences at the time. Fully Spanish speakers actually make up 64% of all the people who live in the Caribbean while full English speakers only make up 14%. You can tell which language is more popular lol. No but it's really due to the fact that the Spanish speaking countries are just more populated than the English speaking ones.


This is a map that shows the languages spoken in this area. And while you can see more smaller dots of red, they just look like all of them can fit in the Spanish speaking islands alone lol. Image taken from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FMapPorn%2Fcomments%2Fmridzu%2Fmost_commonly_spoken_languages_of_carribean%2F&psig=AOvVaw2Qk7Mb-zY5YrZZu2bWXL7u&ust=1680906415657000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA4QjRxqFwoTCJiG9fatlv4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD


    Our first example will be about Bolero!!! Bolero is a music genre that originated in Cuba in the late 19th century and later spread to other Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico and Puerto Rico. The style is characterized by its slow tempo, romantic lyrics, and the use of acoustic guitars and pianos. Bolero songs usually have easy to follow chords and a smooth, easy vocal style that is sometimes referred to as "crooning." The lyrics from boleros mainly focus on themes of love, heartbreak, and nostalgia, and obviously are mostly sung in Spanish.

Here we have men in a Bolero band posing for a photo. Image taken from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.last.fm%2Ftag%2Fbolero&psig=AOvVaw29oNyiILTYX7WCdKjj9pgm&ust=1680908272803000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA4QjRxqFwoTCPCC9betlv4CFQAAAAAdAAAAABAN



Here we have an example of a Bolero song titles "Orlando Orozco/Escandalo" I chose this video because even if you don't speak the language the video is enough to provide some context. The woman is seen being ridiculed by the other women around for having red hair however she also receives so much unwanted attention from men. She is also seen dancing to a wedding photo who I believe to be herself and her husband. 

    Our second example is going to be about Merengue! Merengue is an upbeat kind of music and dance that originated in the Dominican Republic in the mid-19th century. It is most known by its fast-paced rhythm, typically being played on a tambora drum and a metal scraper called a guiro, with brass instruments and an accordion. This style and dance is often associated with festive occasions such as weddings, carnivals, and other celebrations, basically a happy kind of beat to get you moving. The dance is a two-step rhythm, with couples moving in a circular motion and performing a series of spins and dips.
This video shows a live performance of a merengue dance with the musicians in the background. I picked this video because it shows how different people and have the same music but them either all in the same mood or a very similar mood.

Thanks for tuning in, creating these was honestly a lot more fun than I thought they would be. I'm honestly happy that I was able to meet a teacher so passionate about her work and still don't mind and even encourage whenever I basically word vomit on the page lol. Until next time! <3(No this isn't me trying to get extra points I swear lol.)

References

Arda, T. (2022, June 14). What is Merengue Music? Retrieved from Musician Wave: https://www.musicianwave.com/what-is-merengue-music/

Felix, C. (2008, February 14). Canciones de Amor: Boleros for Your Lover. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2008/02/14/19023782/canciones-de-amor-boleros-for-your-lover

Huber, S. (2020, July 28). Which Caribbean Countries Speak Spanish? Retrieved from Key Caribe: https://magazine.keycaribe.com/lifestyle/which-caribbean-countries-speak-spanish/

LeGrand, C., & Gangelhoff, C. (2019). Tour de Force: A Musical Journey of the Caribbean. Sound Caribbean. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9789769624900

 

Comments

Post a Comment